VPI Aries platter/bearing change out

Hi Ken, It is pretty straight forward. Steps I took :

For the platter,

1. remove the tonearm 2. If you are using damping fluid cover the top with some saran wrap and an elastic 3. remove the pulley 4. lift the platter off 5. stand unit on its end and unscrew bottom nut 6. slide assembly off from the top 7. slide new assembly on and secure with nut (at this point I used the cartdrige alignment jig to make sure the table centre was the right distance from the pivot. You may also be able to adjust the jig once the platter is tightened. 8. place new platter 9. place tonearm and make sure the cartridge is aligned properly.

For the motor assembly,

1.Turn assembly upside down 2.unscrew bottom feet 3.detach the motor wires making a note of which wire goes where 4. turn the unit right side up and loosen the top screws 5. slide metal ring off the top and lift motor unit out 6. slide the wires of the new unit through the opening to the bottom 7.secure the top screws (you will have to use an allen key to remove the pully assembly from the motor in order to slide the ring back on) 8.flip over and reattach the motor wires 9. attach plate with feet

Your done.

Byfo,

Thank you very much for this excellent info and the time you took to detail the steps. Very appreciated. This will be a big help.

Did you by chance ever get the hum issue resolved with the new platter? It would be ashame if you could not use it. Have you called or emailed VPI for advice?

Thanks and Best regards,
Ken

Your friend is very lucky. VPI must have put the 300RPM in by mistake or without him knowing was charged...because the 300RPM motor is $150 and the platter/bearing upgrade is $750. I had to pay said amount for my TNT upgrade.

Setting up the platter/bearing is a breeze. Simply take out the platter, you will notice 3 philips screws in the bearing housing, unscrew all and the housing will slip out. Simply slip in the new bearing with the outer sleeve and counter with the nut and you're done.

Changing the motor is more difficult. Unscrew the 4 philips screw on top and the 4 feet w/screws at the bottom. Write down the color coded wires so you won't get mixed up. Then uncrimp all the wires (No soldering required) and pull out the old motor. Smetimes VPI puts a rubber shim (to increase the height)on some motors to raise the height, the new 300RPM motors are high enough that you won't need the shim as it will raised up too high so dispense with it and put motor in place and make sure wiring is tucked in well. Make sure no exposed wires as it may touch the motor case thus motor may not work. MAKE SURE YOU JOT DOWN THE COLOR CODED WIRING OF THE OLD MOTOR before uncrimping otherwise you will get confused figuring out which wires goes where.

Good luck!

Thank you also Yagbol2! I appreciate your help. I know that my buddy sent a check for the platter and bearing for $750 and he was suprised that he received the motor in addition. They also rebuilt his original JMW 10 arm with new bushings and new spacer plate and screws for no additional charge! VPI deals only in MO's or Checks (no credit cards) so he got lucky indeed. VPI may not be the fastest to get things done or shipped...but in my book, they do take good care of you!
Ill be sure to keep the color coded wiring straight as you mentioned.

Many thanks again!..Ken

Hi Ken, I upgraded my cartridge since I posted the problem and found that the new cartridge was resulting in the same hum problem. So I replaced the old platter with the new platter and the hum disappeared quite a bit. The calprit ended up being the new motor. I replaced the new motor with the old one and it totally eliminated the hum. I am pretty sure its because of the lack of space in the cavity the motor sits in. I played around with the new motor placing the foam from the old motor on the bottom of the new motor and this decreased the noise floor substantially. I believe that if there was more room around the motor, this hum would not be an issue. I did contact VPI but they could not help out.
Byron